Dark Memories, Bright Hope
by Vulaan Kulaas
Summary: Meta Knight is haunted by the memories that was restored to him, hours after the company's fall. He is unaware that Kirby will stay by his side, helping him through this dark time even though he has harmed his child. Now it's the hero's turn to let the warrior lean on him for support, showing him that he won't allow him to go through this alone. Spoilers are ahead, so beware.


A/N: Hey guys! I've been playing Planet Robobot like crazy. Like with my other one shot Evil Tyrant, Enraged Father this is full of spoilers so read at your own risk! Also, Meta Knight's eyes are now yellow underneath his mask instead of white. This first part takes place before Kirby reaches Gigabyte Grounds, and the second takes place after the game...a few hours afterwards. And the rest of the one shot? I ain't saying, you'll just have to read.

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Kirby, but that doesn't stop Meta Knight being totally awesome thanks to his creators.

* * *

The pounding of his heart, along with a splitting headache was the only thing allowing him to return to consciousness. ' _Urgh...what the heck? The..invasion...the crash...and...Kirby!'_ That last thing was the reason his eyes snapped open, but a hiss of pain due to the bright lights caused him to squeeze them shut once more. After a bit, he opened them again and was rewarded with the sight of a room that looked like an unholy child of a sci-fi movie and a torture chamber.

"Ah, the captive is awake." A feminine voice exclaimed softly, and he tried to move to see what was going on. Something held him down, and he noticed that he was strapped down to a table and what made his blood freeze was seeing different things above him. A soft laugh was heard, and the female was soon in his face. "Hmm...you're an interesting creature, Meta Knight. You're a fascinating specimen, just like the pink one...what is his name, if you don't mind me asking? We need some information about the enemy that is disrupting the invasion."

The knight's response was to glare at her, and the words flew from his mouth before he could stop them. "His name is...none of your concern. Now, I would advise you to let me go." The strange female giggled at him, the sound making his stomach churn with unease. The way she was looking at him didn't help matters any, and he choked back a gasp of pain as a sharp pain tore through his body.

Gritting his teeth, he refused to show her that he was being affected by this. "You're a stubborn one, I must admit. Sadly for you, I must use force to get the information I need. The pink one is already at Overload Ocean, and we don't have much time before he gets here. Oh, before you get mentally assaulted my name is Susie." The nonchalant way she spoke about it, and the fact she was walking to him with an object made him thrash about. Unfortunately, it wouldn't do him any good since he was strapped down so tightly.

The scorpion like object crawled towards the area of Meta Knight's body where his brain would be while a strangled cry tore from him as it's tail sunk into his flesh, but it didn't impale the organ. Instead the tip very lightly touched it, but even that didn't stop the horror going through him. He tried to thrash about, to get it off of him but he was unable to. Horrific agony ripped through his mind as the creature started to go through his memories, things he wouldn't even tell Kirby about.

How long was the mental assault taking place? Minutes, hours? He wasn't sure, but his throat was raw from the screaming that had taken place. Scooping up the scorpion, Susie then crushed it since she was able to see the memories thanks to a hologram. "So, the boy's name is Kirby and he's your son? How...sweet. Even though he's a child, he must be terminated for he's a threat to President Haltmann's dream. But my goodness, such power you possess! You'll be a very wonderful asset for the company!" Cracking his yellow eyes open he weakly gave her a look that if it could kill, she would be dead fifty times over.

"No...you...leave...my son out...of this! I..don't..care if you..kill me...leave the boy alone!" He knew he was reduced to begging, but he didn't care. His son was far more important than his own welfare. His stomach churned at the thought of Kirby being caught, being mechanized like he was about to be. The very thought of his little boy being in such agony, him sobbing and screaming for help that wouldn't come...bile rose up in his mouth but he had to swallow it back down since he couldn't spit it out.

"I'm sorry Meta Knight, but he is the enemy...child or not, he will die." Susie then pressed a button on the wall, and the different robot arms reached out towards their newest victim. "And you'll be the one to do it...but the only thing that shall comfort you for now is that you won't know him, he'll just be a nameless creature that you'll slaughter."

Those words rang through his mind like a broken record and the last thing that went through it before the horror began was, " _Kirby, please forgive me...my son.'_

* * *

The wind blew softly on the same hill that he and Kirby would meet up on after they defeat a villain, but that didn't ease his mind at all. Even though his memories were restored from his time as Mecha Knight...he'd rather had a blank in them than remembering what he had done to Kirby. Oh dear Nova...it was even worse than when he was under Yin-Yarn's control. At that time, he knew who he was and who he was fighting. But, he didn't during those times. He remembered vowing to not get caught and having to fight Kirby again, and what happened? He let out a bitter laugh, guilt and remorse tearing through his body.

"I'm sorry Kirby, I tried to fight it...but it's my fault you're walking with a slight limp still." He murmured, closing his eyes and trying to avoid the memory of what he had done. No matter how hard he tried, the flashes of him stomping on one of the boy's feet until he heard a few bones nearly break danced behind his eyelids, along with his fists beating on him to the point he would be bruised. The pained howls, the child begging him to stop...trying to reach out to him. It was almost too much, for he felt his eyes beginning to burn. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and blinked the tears away before they could run down his face.

He was so deep in his memories that he didn't hear the child in question walk up behind him until he heard a quiet, "Dad? Are you going...to be okay?" He slowly turned towards his son, the knight's eyes refusing to show the torment he was in. How...how could he ask about his well being when he should be worried about his own? He just didn't understand how the boy could be worried about him, after what he had done to him.

"I'm going to be alright, Kirby." He rumbled, but even that sounded hollow. The blue eyed hero of Dream Land didn't buy it, for his gaze burned into him with the intensity of the sun. That gaze unnerved the knight slightly, for that look didn't belong on one so young. He tensed as his son made his way over to him, and he wrapped his father up in a hug. He was tempted to shove him away, but the sounds of him beginning to shake and sob reached him.

"D-Dad...it's...not your fault...it was...the company's. They...made you hurt me...it..wasn't you that did it." Kirby choked out, tears running down his face. "P-please...don't push me away again...don't leave me alone...I want to help you...I want to help you get through this...it wasn't your fault." The child had a death grip on him, and he refused to let his father go.

Hearing the boy in so much pain about broke his heart, along with the fact he was willing to stay with him despite what had happened. He slowly wrapped Kirby up in a hug as well, and he choked out after he had pulled himself together. "Son...you..." He took a breath and finished, "You have a heart large enough to fill the entire Gamble Galaxy, and enough love it in to ease the pain of anyone." It still boggled his mind, but feeling the boy against him in a loving embrace reminded him that the pink hero refused to leave his side.

He knew the chances of Kirby abandoning him were zero, and that helped to ease his inner torment. He didn't know how long it would take for both of them to recover from this ordeal, for the older warrior knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. One thing was for certain, however.

He knew the both of them would suffer from nightmares, but he was unaware of how bad they will be.

* * *

Everything was dark and silent except for the sound of his breathing. The blue knight couldn't even see five feet in front in him for a while, until he realized that the darkness was slowly fading away to a semi-dark state. He could see a little bit, but it wasn't enough to get a full reading of his surroundings. He slowly made his way forward, his eyes darting around in case something jumped out at him.

Oh, who was he kidding? This may be a dream, and he may not get hurt from it but years of living has taught him to be cautious. He tensed as he heard two voices, one of them being Susie's and the other...his blood froze as he realized the second one was Kirby's! 'Oh dear Nova, no...no no!' He thought, his wings snapping out and he found himself flying towards the area where the voices were coming from.

The doors hissed open, but it seemed like they were taking a million years to him. As they finally opened completely, he rushed into the room. The sight that befell him caused his eyes to widen in shock and horrified disbelief, due to the fact Susie and President Haltmann were leaning over the screaming Kirby. The bigger male shook his head as he looked at the readings of Kirby's power. Meta Knight tried to rush over towards them, but he felt frozen like something had him in a vice grip.

"I'm afraid this pink creature is far too dangerous to keep alive, Suise. We could mechanize him, but the fear of him breaking free of our control is too high." He said coldly, soon walking towards the wall that held a vial full of liquid. "Inject him with this, it will kill him quickly and it will prevent the bloody mess that would have to be cleaned up." He gave it to her, and Meta Knight tried to thrash about. His heart was racing, and fear tore through him.

"No! Leave him out of this, he's just a child!" He shouted, but they didn't hear him. "No, Kirby!" He yelled, as he saw his son beginning to shake and choke as the deadly toxin quickly started to do it's job. He found himself rushing towards the boy, but he didn't notice that the other two had vanished. At this point, he could've cared less. Holding onto him, he could only watch helplessly as his child struggled to say something. After a couple of minutes, he could stare in stunned disbelief as his son took his last breath. "No...Kirby...no! This..can't be..happening! Kirby!" He could hear the sound of sinister laughter, like it was mocking his loss and enjoying his suffering...

* * *

He shot up with a gasp, his eyes wide with many emotions and he felt like he couldn't inhale enough oxygen into his lungs. Blinking the tears from his eyes, he rubbed his face and he realized he was shaking. The sound of his bedroom door opening made him look up, and he found himself wrapped up in a hug. A pair of terrified blue eyes were staring at him after Kirby had let him go. "Dad! It's okay, it was just a nightmare!" The child shakily exclaimed, for he had never heard his father in so much pain before. It tore the boy up inside, but he had to stay strong for him. "It's alright, I'm not going anywhere." As he hugged the older male again, he could hear how fast his heart rate was.

As his breaths began to even out, Meta Knight slowly found himself hugging his son again. "I-I'm going to be alright, Kirby." He murmured, taking a few breaths to calm himself down. He could feel his heart rate start to return to normal, and his shaking slowly began to cease. "But I appreciate you checking up on me." The pink hero nodded, not saying anything about how pale the older warrior probably was underneath his mask.

Looking over, he could see the sun starting to rise over the horizon. He couldn't help being surprised at this, for he didn't realize he'd slept through the night. Very rarely does he get a full night's rest, and at this time he would be up training or doing something else. He was torn out of his thoughts as he heard Kirby's stomach growling, and he let out a soft chuckle at this. Some things never change, but it was a good thing at times. "Come along now, Kirby. I believe you'd want to see what's in the kitchen for breakfast?" He rumbled, and the child slowly nodded at this. Seeing that his father had recovered enough from the nightmare, he hopped out of his bed and waited for him to follow.

As the duo made their way into the kitchen, Meta Knight knew things weren't going to go back to normal for a while. But with Kirby, he knew the child was going to do everything in his power to help everyone get back to normal. He didn't know when the next menace would attack Popstar, but they will protect it like they always had.

A warmth soon spread through his chest as his son peeked behind him once in a while, to make sure he was following him and to make sure he would be alright. The fact that Kirby refused to see him suffer from his ordeal, even though he suffered much throughout his life before he met the boy reminded him how much love he had within him. No matter what came their way, there was one thing he knew Kirby wouldn't do.

He would never abandon him, and that was something he would always be grateful for.


End file.
